"Born in 1913 in Martinique, Aime Cesaire is acknowledged as one of the major poets of the twentieth century writing in French, and his celebrated long poem, Cahier d'un retour au pays natal (Notebook of a return to the native land), is his best known work. In addition to containing the most forceful statement of Negritude (a term coined by Cesaire and appearing in print for the first time in this poem), Cahier is a masterpiece of modern French poetry.".

"The poem is marked by its allusive character, its highly compressed images, and its unusual use of the French language. In preparing this edition, Abiola Irele has tried to keep the needs of the English-language student foremost in mind.

The edition presents the complete text of the poem in French, with an editorial apparatus in English that includes a substantial introduction setting it in its historical and ideological context and offering a detailed analysis of its literary significance; a stanza-by-stanza commentary explicating references and allusions; and a select bibliography of related works."--BOOK JACKET.